Patriot Day 2018: Despite America’s divisions, the heroes of 9/11 still shine

SAN JOSE, CA Sept. 11, 2018 – Seventeen years have passed since the horror of the events of September 11, 2001. The insidious terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center buildings and the Pentagon and the murders of thousands innocents have left permanent scars. This Patriot Day, as we remember the victims of the 9/11 terror attacks, we also remember the first responders that ran into the danger to certain death.

America has yet to recover.

Certainly, the point of Patriot Day is not to bring citizens back to the horrific display of destruction and the haunting memories of unprecedented global terrorism every year.

As the nation commemorates the events of 9/11/2001, the point of Patriot Day is to help citizens to remember and honor the brave men and women who were willing to lay down their lives for the sake of others.

Remembrance on Patriot Day is noble

To remember the sacrifice of those men and women of uniform noble gesture. To know there were those who were willing to go out of their way to help total strangers is quite a reassurance towards the value of a civil society. It was significant that the government set aside a day of remembrance for those brave men and women who went into the danger zone to help save and serve their fellow human beings caught in harm’s way. The commemoration of such sacrifice is not a waste of time.

These first responders were willing to make the ultimate sacrifice and were not looking for fame, or glory, or extraordinary honor. They willingly went into danger to help others in danger. Certainly, as anyone understands, any of them could have shirked their duty on that day.

Those first responders on that day could have called in sick or found an excuse to not show up at the scene of the crime. But, they showed up, and they gave their lives by simply doing the jobs they were asked to do.

The lived and died according to the testimony of John, as Jesus said:

“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

The commemoration of such truly sacrificial actions by those brave men and women who went into the danger zone to serve and to save their fellow human beings is not a waste of time. Remembering their sacrifice is our primary way of honoring their deeds. Yer America has grown past the horrific days of 2001, and as the nation comes upon this solemn day in 2018, many Americans may have forgotten such dramatic moments.

Today, America is seriously divided.

As the National Football League launches another season, the controversy surrounding those who “take a knee” has politicized the NFL It has soured football fans’ opinions of the value of professional football. In comparison, football heroes pale are not the same kind of heroes as the American men and women who put on the uniform of service.

Such men and women are true public servants, yet kneelers seem to have an agenda that opposes the enforcement of law and order.

Americans who care, choose to remember the sacrifice of fallen heroes who offered all they could give for people they may have never known. Americans who have forgotten will go on with “business as usual” and pretend to ignore the kneelers. Yet, today the division is hard to ignore. There is the alternative view of the police and the American flag, and even of America. It is quite clear there are those who hate America, and there are those who love the country, despite imperfections. Football is not the same.

Today, Americans are divided over an alternative view of our First Responders

Those who do pay taxes appreciate that the police normally perform their jobs to serve and to protect citizens. Yet, Black Lives Matter and Antifa, and other anarchist groups seem to prefer lawlessness to law and order. The law enforcement officials used to stand for law and order. Yet, even the police departments have become politicized and weakened by the divisiveness. One only needs to recall the recent anarchist rioting has rocked several major cities in the United States, especially during the 2016 election.

During the election period, riots broke out in several cities, and most of it was directed against then-candidate Donald Trump. The sad reality is that in some of the affected cities, police were told to stand down by Democrat mayors or Democrat officials. Thus ironically, the police force became a political tool, and several citizens who actually support the law and pay taxes (the basis of the salaries of all public officials) became victims of serious violence because if their support of the candidate of their choice.

Democrats are supposed to be for Pro-Choice, but it apparently doesn’t apply to voting.

In more treacherous circumstances, the murderous attacks upon police in various cities is shocking to many American citizens.

Recent resistance to the police is becoming more blatant as an anarchist rioting challenges police authority. This is a challenge to law and order itself. It is not like the challenge to oppression experienced before and during the days of civil rights confrontations.

Few in the major mainstream media outlets make an honest distinction. Certainly, those who lived through the times could tell true horror stories of police oppression in the Deep South. Today the true aggressors are.

Donald Trump is a lightning rod for those Americans who hate America.

Those who see Donald Trump as a threat to their entrenched power and those who want to retain that power are reacting to Trump with increasing intensity. The continuous revealing of unethical, and likely unlawful, actions by officials of the Federal Bureau of Investigation during the election makes the crimes of Watergate minuscule in comparison.

The shadowy actions being discovered demonstrate that even America’s revered FBI has been politicized and tainted. Sadly, the unraveling saga of espionage and conspiracy is being reported by only one major news network. The bizarre events almost resemble a major spy thriller as more and more light is shed upon the realities of the Deep State.

The complicity of the media in America’s divisions

Ironically, the mainstream media outlets that relished constant reporting on the plight of the Republicans and the Nixon Administration during the days of the Watergate tragedy are silent over the more serious crimes of the Democrats.

Media moguls of the MSM prefer to portray the violent confrontations on the street as it will boost viewership. The major mainstream media outlets seem to feature riotous street theater and violent antics. Featuring rioting and mass shootings in the name of news coverage can also serve to tear down the public confidence in a civil society.

Such a practice or policy will prove dangerous in the future.

If it bleeds it leads on the Main Stream Media

This generation of media moguls has a penchant for sex and violence because it sells. Such practices of the MSM outlets are comparable to vultures preying upon a wounded creature. Repeated media coverage of street violence has a tendency to increase fear within the general public. It does little to help heal a divided society, but it definitely lines the pockets of the giant media corporate types.

Featuring genuine everyday American heroes may have become too boring for a sensationalist, socialist-slanted MSM.

9/11 unites us, not divides us

Yet, despite all the turbulence and turmoil in America, it is right that Americans who still care would reflect upon those heroes who died on 9/11. The tragedy of 9/11 will be compounded if the heroes of 9/11 are forgotten. The fact that there were so many who rose to the occasion in the face of pure evil in 2001, can spark hope in amidst the difficulties and divisiveness in 2018. Remembering the actions of the heroes of 9/11 is heartening, and can truly rekindle one’s faith in humanity.

They gave their lives that many American and foreign citizens could keep their lives. And, while there is much to be disappointed within U.S. history, the examples of decent and upright people helping others shine a light upon the goodness of the American people.

Love is at the heart of it.

Featured Image: Daniel Bye, a firefighter with the base fire department, stands at attention during a small 9/11 Memorial ceremony Sept. 11, 2017, at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. The impromptu ceremony, put together by Eglin Fire, honored the occasion with Federal Emergency Management Agency responder teams awaiting orders to action in the wake of Hurricane Irma. More than 500 FEMA responders were housed at Eglin throughout the weekend. (U.S. Air Force photo/Samuel King Jr.)

Dennis Jamison reinvented his life after working for a multi-billion dollar division of Johnson & Johnson for several years. Now semi-retired, he is an adjunct faculty member at West Valley College in California. He currently writes a column on US history and one on American freedom for the Communities Digital News, as well as writing for other online publications. During the 2016 presidential primaries, he worked as the leader of a network of writers, bloggers, and editors who promoted the candidacy of Dr. Ben Carson. He founded the “We the People” Network of writers and the Citizen Sentinels Project to pro-actively promote the values and principles established at the founding of the United States, and to discover and support more morally centered citizen-candidates who sincerely seek election as public servants, not politicians.